J.R. Martinez Wows ‘DWTS’ Judges with Samba (Video)

The Army vet-turned actor earned the night's highest scores and solidified his position as a frontrunner to win season 13

"Dancing With the Stars" fan favorite J.R. Martinez earned the highest scores of the night — and endeared himself even more to the audience and at-home viewers — with a sexy samba that was the highlight of an '80s-themed night.

Read more: Wanted: An American Hero; Found: 'Dancing's' J.R. Martinez

During the show's fifth week of competition, Martinez and professional partner Karina Smirnoff visited The Conga Room in Los Angeles to get a feel for samba dancing, and that led the duo to pull off the sharpest, most entertaining performance of the evening.

It was also the first week since week one that Martinez and Smirnoff topped another favored team, Ricki Lake and partner Derek Hough.

Watch Martinez, the Army vet-turned-actor who has mounted a hard-fought recovery from massive burn injuries he suffered while serving in Iraq:

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